MATES RATES ONLINE LTD
Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
- • 1 accounts
Corporate timeline (8 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-04🏢Company incorporatedAs MATES RATES ONLINE LTD
- 2020-05-04➕FREW, John Scott Catto appointeddirector
- 2020-05-04📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 6 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
Red flags
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr John Scott Catto Frew Individual · British · DOB 05/1965 · age 61 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 04/05/2020 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
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7 specific questions generated from this company's actual signals — liquidity, leverage, director age, charge count, red flags, age-of-company.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
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Registered office
Filing status
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
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